


Not Your Regular Family Courtroom Drama

by siriuslygrednforge



Category: Law & Order: SVU, Trouble in the Heights (2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Barba and Nevada being sarcastic bros who hate each other, Gen, Hair Gel Jokes, idk how to tag this further
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:36:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5175176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriuslygrednforge/pseuds/siriuslygrednforge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nevada Ramirez is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Barba is the prosecutor on the case. AU where these two dorks are bickering cousins</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rafael

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this http://queenlondyn.tumblr.com/post/129097947095/rafael-vs-nevada

"Where's the fire, Rollins?" he said, dropping his briefcase by the door that he kicked shut with his leg. It was heavy with all the files of all the five cases he was simultaneously working on, but Rafael didn't mind another one. The man lived to work.  
  
Rollins, looking slightly annoyed, said nothing and pointed towards the interrogation window. Olivia turned back to look at him at his arrival, her light brown hair falling around her face. She was wearing a blue blazer over a crisp white shirt. God, he loved it when she wore blue. Taking a sip of his coffee, he quickly looked away from her before he could say or do something stupid and looked at the window, only to almost spit his coffee out.  
  
"At first" Olivia said , breaking her gaze from him and looking at the window "I thought it was you. Then, I remembered that you would rather die than use so much hair product"  
  
  
Rafael looked at her, not at all amused at her quip regarding his hair, and then at the man sitting calmly in the interrogation room, who seemed unfazed at the questions Carisi was hurling at him. It had been five years since he last saw him, but Nevada had not changed a bit. That bloody black leather jacket of his was hung on the chair's back rest, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had an taunting expression on his face - Rafael was familiar with it. It was the same one he would see on his face every time they got into fights as ten year olds, 14 year olds and the last time they talked face to face.  
  
"What" he said through gritted teeth, his eyes fixated on Nevada "is he doing here?”

  


“Remember that murder on 16th street?" Rollins said , referring to a case the squad had taken up two days ago "Victim met him at a night club, took him to her place. Next morning, we get a call from her neighbour. That’s him"  
  
"Fin said the place was a bloody mess.  Luckily, he was at a nearby cafe grabbing some coffee." Olivia said, stressing on the coffee. Really, Liv?, he thought. “He had an entourage with him too.”

  


“Gang” Rafael said, looking at them. He wanted to let them know he was familiar with how stuff like this worked, especially since he was familiar with Nevada's men.  
  
" Yeah, whatever you want to call it. He knows you" Fin interjected "said, " Oh no, I'm not Rafi. But call him for me, will ya?" Felt like punching the bastard straight in the face but then it kinda felt like punching you so I dropped it"  
  
"Not like we never felt like punching you in the face either" Rollins said in a low voice, continuing to look at the one sided conversation between Carisi and Nevada. Rafael saw as Carisi kept asking him questions about the victim and growing increasingly annoyed at Nevada's calm behaviour. He had seen this routine of Nevada's many times before, though that had been ages ago when he was just a henchman and not the leader of a Washington Heights' based drug trafficking ring.

 

"Good morning folks" a voice boomed.  
  
Christ no, Rafael thought. As if the day could get any more bad, he had to see that ugly, smug grin on John Buchanan's face  
  
"Counsellor" Buchanan said. Rafael nodded back, not wanting to risk starting a conversation with the man. He took another sip of his coffee, which he gulped down with a frown. Even the bloody thing had to get cold. He saw Buchanan walk inside and sit beside Nevada, who himself looked at the window and smirk. As if the bastard knew he was standing right outside and was watching him.

  
  
"I hate this guy already" Fin said  
  
"Join the club, detective" Rafael said. He walked away from the window and sat down on a chair, knowing what was going to happen in the next thirty seconds. Nevada Ramirez was going to walk out of that interrogation room with a smug smile on his face, slicking his hair back and shaking Buchanan's hand.

  
  
"Rafi, _Hermano_ !" he heard Nevada say. Rafael looked down, praying fervently to give him the strength to get over with this quickly. He looked up to see Nevada's extended hand , as if to help him get up. Brushing it away, he got up on his own. He could feel the squad and Buchanan's eyes on him.  
  
"Don't you dare call me that" he replied  
  
"Oh come on now, stop being a _pendejo_ for fuck's sake. Its been years since I saw my baby brother. "  
  
" Cousin” Rafael shot back.  
  
"You do know this is not over, right?" Olivia said to Buchanan, keeping her eyes on Nevada, who was looking at her with an odd expression.

 

"My client currently has an important business meeting today, Lieutenant. Besides,you can't hold him based on the words of an 80 year old neighbour. So, he's free to go." Buchanan replied

Rafael scoffed when he heard the words 'business meeting', knowing fully well what they actually meant.

  
" You see, I’m not going to be arrested for something I haven't done, __cariño_ ” _Nevada said, smirking at Rollins, who looked at him with a sour expression on her face. Rafael almost opened his mouth to say something about keeping his mouth shut while talking to a detective but stopped himself when he saw Nevada receive Rollins' displeased face with an enthusiastic smile of his own.

 

“You don't worry about the evidence, Counsellor” Olivia said “We'll definitely get that sorted out”

Both Nevada and Buchanan glared at her.

 

“See you around, _Hermano_ ” Nevada said and left, leaving the door open, only for it to shut itself with a loud BANG

  


Rafael sank down in a chair opposite Liv, internally cursing his luck. The air was heavy with an awkward silence. Nobody had asked him about Nevada yet. Not even Carisi, who is usually the one to ask things first. But he knew they all had questions, a long list of questions. He wished he he hadn't woken up that morning and shuddered at the thought of the rest of his day deteriorating in the same manner. Rafael gulped down the rest of his totally cold coffee and looked at the squad, who looked patient but inquisitive about what had just happened. Rafael opened his mouth but had no idea how to explain the squad how his first cousin, who they arrested early that morning for raping and murdering someone, was a drug lord.

  
  


  
  
  

 

 


	2. Nevada

God only knew what had possessed him that morning to go visit that part of town, just to grab some coffee. Just when he and his men finally sat down, a bunch of cops had to show up and arrest him.

 

Nevada had not felt the cool metal of the handcuffs being slapped against the skin of his wrists in years. “Sit down” he told his men, who got up and were almost ready to break fire in the small cafe they were sitting in, reassuring them that everything was alright. He was sure he had heard someone say “Barba”. Must have been the black guy in the jacket. He looked more like one of his men and less like a police officer.

 

“Oh no, I'm not Rafi. But call him for me, will ya?" Nevada said to him as he was being pushed out of the cafe by the pasty white kid, who was telling him to shut up. Though the look on their faces was priceless when they heard Rafi's name. Hmm, maybe these are the cops he regularly worked with.

 

Nevada sat comfortably in the backseat of the squad car. The pasty kid and the black guy were sitting in the front seats, while another squad car followed them behind. Juan would handle everything, he thought and exhaled loudly. Rafi, of course he wouldn't help him now. It wasn't how it was ten years ago, where Rafi could have helped him and his men get out of any legal mess.

 

This one, however, was different. He dared not to ask any of those two cops why he was being arrested, knowing very well that keeping his mouth shut would be the best option in this case. “Gotta make do with Buchanan, I guess” Nevada muttered under his breath. “Huh?” Carisi, the pasty kid, asked him. Nevada shook his head and looked down, cursing whoever's face he had first seen that morning.

 

Throughout the ride to the precinct, the cops kept looking at him, as if he reminded them of someone. Well, of course he did. On one hand, he was annoyed by whatever reason he was being taken in but on the other hand, he was excited to see Rafael again. And he fully knew Rafael wouldn't be feeling the same way.

 

By the time they got to the precinct, his wrists had started hurting from the handcuffs. Carisi uncuffed and told Nevada to empty his pockets. They were joined by two female detectives, whose faces looked like they had just seen a ghost. The blonde one's face quickly turned sour, while the brunette glared at him. Nevada was quickly ushered into the interrogation room by Carisi while the others talked. Probably about how much he resembled Rafi.

 

He took off his jacket and hung it over the chair. It was too hot inside the car and he couldn't even take it off back then because of those handcuffs. He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and sat opposite Carisi, stretching his legs.

 

“I would like to call my lawyer first, since I don't see any reason why I should be arrested” he said

Carisi asked him to write Buchanan's details down on a paper and handed it outside.

 

“Now” the kid spoke “ We got a call two days ago, regarding a murder. And your name was mentioned”

Nevada sat up straight and looked at the detective, who was glaring back at him. That was impossible, he thought.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Nevada spat out.

 

“Camilla Velazquez. Do you know her?”

“I don't know her. There are lots of girls” Nevada said, his mind going back briefly to last night's memory. It was just a drunken romp in one of the bathrooms of the club with a 20 year old skinny girl.

The detective pushed a photo towards him.

 

He looked at the picture carefully. Ah yes, this was the same pair of hazel eyes.

He now remembered that girl. She was the one who took him back to her apartment. This one was different from the other girls, who just came to him for free drugs and a quickie in the bathroom. This one had kept him on his toes the entire night, right from the moment they were grinding against each other on the dance floor till they fell on her bed and had some really wild sex.

 

“I know her. Met her two days ago” he replied “Is my lawyer here?”

“You don't worry about that. Just tell us what happened that night” Carisi said and glanced at the window for a moment. Nevada knew the rest of the cops, possibly Rafael too, were watching him. He leaned back comfortably and shook his head.

 

“We danced, made out and we went over to her place that night” Nevada said. He normally didn't do that but it had been a bad day. And there was something about her that struck him different because of which he couldn't resist getting out of there and going back to her place instead of his. “Fucked her really good the entire night and left around 4 am.” he continued “Want me to elaborate?”

 

He saw the detective's face redden and at the same time, twist into an annoyed expression. Nevada loved ticking them off.

 

“You brutally raped her, murdered her and now dare to think all of this is a joke?

“Look, we had some really wild sex that night” Nevada replied “But no, I definitely did not kill that girl'

 

Just then, he heard the door open. Nevada felt relieved for the first time that morning upon seeing John Buchanan stride in with his briefcase. Though he kind of wished it was Rafi.

“I understand my client has been accused of murder?” Buchanan asked Carisi, who looked even more annoyed.

 

“Yes”

“Now what evidence do you have?”

“Well we have statements from the victim's neighbour”

“Which are not substantial enough to prove that my client assaulted the victim, considering the fact that he left soon afterwards”

“Yes but-”

“I think my client is free to walk out of the room as of now, Detective Carisi. Good day”

 

Nevada felt a smirk tug at his lips as he got up and winked at the fuming detective before grabbing his jacket and walking out. Buchanan was impressive but not as good as Rafael, he thought. He walked out, not before shaking the attorney's hand in gratitude, to see Rafael sitting in a chair, clutching his coffee so tight it looked like he would almost crush the cup.

 

"Rafi, _Hermano_!" he said as he extended his hand, trying not to sound too happy. He had not forgotten that argument they had the last time they met. Nevada looked at him. Still wearing those ridiculous, fancy suits, he thought. Rafael brushed his hand away and got up quickly, still averting his gaze.

  
"Don't you dare call me that" he replied  
  
"Oh come on now, stop being a _pendejo_ for fuck's sake.” Nevada said “ Its been years since I saw my baby brother. " He genuinely meant it.   
  
" Cousin” Rafael shot back. Typical Rafi, Nevada thought. Always trying to specifiy their relationship to people.   
  
"You do know this is not over, right?" the brunette copsaid to Buchanan, though she it was him she was glaring at.

 

"My client currently has an important business meeting today, Lieutenant. Besides,you can't hold him based on the words of an 80 year old neighbour. So, he's free to go." Buchanan replied

Nevada swore he heard Rafael scoff when Buchanan said 'business meeting'. That little piece of shit.

  
" You see, I’m not going to be arrested for something I haven't done, ___cariño__ ” _Nevada said, looking away from Rafi, to the blonde cop. She looked back at him with a sour expression, which he retuned with a smile. This was fun, he thought.

“You don't worry about the evidence, Counselor” the brunette said again “We'll definitely get that sorted out”

Both Nevada and Buchanan glared at her.

 

“See you around, _Hermano_ ” Nevada said to Rafael and left, leaving the door wide open for it to shut itself witha BANG.

 

He really missed getting on his brother's nerves.

 


	3. Rafael

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *jonas nightingale voice* BACKSTORY! backstory-backstory-backstory

“He's my cousin” Rafael said, looking down. It had been fifteen minutes since Nevada and Buchanan had left the precinct. They were in Olivia's office, with Barba sitting on a chair, the rest of the squad sitting opposite him on the black sofa. Luckily for him, Liv and Rollins had to tend to another case, which had given him enough time to figure out a way to explain the situation to the squad. 

 

And this is where they were, now.

 

“His mother was my father's sister, a Barba. Until she got married to that scumbag Julio Ramirez” Rafael added quickly. 

 

And gave birth to another scumbag, he thought, Nevada's annoyingly smug face appearing right in front of his eyes.

His father, Rafael Sr, had a twin sister, Sophia. She had met Ramirez at her friend's party. He was a college dropout and she was studying to be a teacher. Until she fell madly in love and threw away her career for him. The worst thing was, she knew he worked for Alberto Morena, the head of the drug syndicate in Washington Heights at that time. And yet, she loved him. She loved him when they got married, she loved him when he used to beat her up at times (which he knew because she would come over to her brother's house to stay the night until Julio's anger died), she loved him when he went to jail for three years for an armed robbery/arson case and loved him when he died in a crossfire between Morena's men and the police. Rafael liked her because she would help him out with studies, would get him books for his birthdays and was always there for him when his own mother wasn't. He felt bad for her whenever she would come over, her face swollen with tears streaming down her cheeks, Nevada in tow. He and Nevada were of the same age, with Rafael being a few months older. Nevada was a quiet kid, until Julio went to prison. He then had to go work for Morena in his father's place and in a matter of months, Nevada became an even more dangerous version of his father. At first, he felt pity for Nevada. Because Rafael knew what happened in the Ramirez household, just like Nevada knew what would happen in the Barba household. They never spoke to each other much, even during those nights Nevada would come over to stay with him. Rafael would be awake at night, studying (the only time he could study peacefully without listening to his parents fight during the day) while Nevada slept. Though Rafael swore he sometimes saw Nevada read his books ("I was just looking at the pictures" "Its a novel, Nevada. There are no pictures in it"). That was how they were back then. They lost contact more and more as they grew, only until Rafael got a job at a law firm and Nevada had succeeded Morena as the new head of the drug syndicate in the Heights.

 

“That explains the similarities” Carisi said, his voice faltering as he slowly realized what he just said “I meant the physical similarities. Between you and him.”

 

“Yes, thank you Detective” Rafael continued, annoyed at Carisi's interruption; the morning had as it is, proven stressful for him. The others were staring at him. He felt like he was being cross examined in court and the squad were jurors. Loosening his tie, he took another deep breath and exhaled.

 

"I know this entire situation seems...absurd" he continued "but believe me, I haven't spoken to the man in 10 years, ever since I joined the DA's office"

 

He could see that this had got their attention. He had never told any of them, not even Liv, how he ended up joining the DA's office after practicing as a defense attorney for 15 years. It had never even up come up in the conversations they had at the bar after trials. Not that he seemed ashamed of his past, he just didn't think it mattered, especially to the squad.

 

"Nevada was...slightly responsible in changing my point of view as a defense attorney." Rafael continued. "I primarily took up the job for the money." he said, trying not to sound like a materialistic idiot "For a kid who grew up in absolute poverty in South Bronx, this seemed like a bloody good choice at that time. And over time, I forgot why I wanted to become a lawyer in the first place-"

 

"-to help people get justice" Olivia said, a slight smile tugging at her lips that told him she thought he had made a good choice. 

The pay was very good. But he had grown sick of defending people who thought they could get away with doing bad things. It had made him question his conscience, whether all those years of staying up till 3 am in the night and studying like he needed to survive was for his life to turn out this way. He felt like an idiot for rejecting the internship he had received from the DA's office after he had passed the Bar.

For all those years, he had known what living the good life felt like, now he wanted to make himself feel like he deserved living it. And that's how he ended up becoming an ADA in Brooklyn. It was one of those decisions in life he was never going to regret.

Rafael returned her smile with an equally warm one.

Now comes the hard part, he thought and rubbed his palms against each other, feeling the reassuring warmth that came from the friction.

"During that time, I used to help out Nevada with things." he said "Like, getting his thugs less jail time or even winning cases for them. I am not proud of that, but you know, families"

He kept telling himself that he did it for Aunt Sophia. Because she always saw them as brothers. Rafael would secretly enjoy seeing his mother's face sour every time Sophia pampered Rafael and treated him like her own son; because Lucia couldn't treat her son like that. But Rafael knew what his mother had to go through, with handling his father's mood swings and her job at the charter school. He knew she loved him, but she couldn't show that (except for the piping hot cup of coffee he would see on his desk at 1 am when he would doze off doing calculus. He would know it was her). Sophia, however, would never miss out on any opportunity to shower Rafael with love and affection. Relatives would sometimes mistake Rafael for a Ramirez, with Sophia doting on him and the striking resemblance to his cousin. Nevada would use these things just to get him to help him out with whatever legal mess he would get himself into ("Think about Mami, Rafi" "You are the worst"). Sophia had died right before he graduated from Harvard. She was instrumental in his decision to be a lawyer. Seeing what his mother, his aunt went through, seeing all the crimes happening around him had led him to choose law as a profession. So when Nevada would say things like that, he would at first laugh it off, but he eventually helped him out, thinking that aunt Sophia would be happy to see him helping out his brother, her scumbag of a son. Those were the decisions in life he would always regret.

"I understand, Counselor" he heard Rollins say as he snapped out of his thoughts. He knew she meant it, he had heard about her sister too. He looked at her and nodded.

"Anyways, enough talking" Rafael said, getting up. He felt lighter, as if he had gotten a huge rock off his chest. And much better too. "I need you guys to get me any kind of evidence that leads him to the murder. As fast as possible"

He knew Nevada wasn't capable of doing this. He knew Nevada Ramirez was capable of many crimes, but raping and murdering a woman was the last thing he would do, having seen his mother suffer at his father's hands himself. But he needed to know what was going on and help him out, one last time. 

Families, he said to himself and shook his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay in updating, college started three days ago. I hope you guys like this one. i'll be updating shortly with a Nevada POV so stay tuned :D


	4. Nevada

He couldn't get his mind off whatever that had happened that morning. What did happen that morning?

 

 

He didn't even remember the morning of Camilla Velazquez's murder. Heck, he didn't even clearly remember Camilla Velazquez. Just vague memories of dirty dancing and leaving the bar early, only to go fool around at her place.

 

The only thing he remembered was that certain air of danger around her. Not that she seemed dangerous, but it felt like doing anything that had to do with her would be a risk. And like the idiot that he was, he didn't give a shit about it.

 

 

And look where it landed me now, he thought and cursed himself. Nevada shoved the skinny girl off his lap and got up to leave.

 

"Boss, you leaving?" he heard Gabi ask behind him as he made his way towards the door.

 

"Go home, do something sensible" he told the girl, who was following him, and tossed his keys to the valet for him to get the car.

 

"I need some time off" he told Gabi, who nodded "Get me everything you can get on Camilla Velazquez till tomorrow morning"

 

 

He saw Gabi wave at him and go back to barking orders at Rico and Jose. Nevada relaxed as he settled in the front seat and drove as he heard the loud thumping noise of the bar fade as he drove away. He breathed in and out quickly. They had found nothing that would implicate him for the murder, no substantial evidence. But he knew that would still not stop those cops. He knew that it would sure as hell not stop Rafi from coming after him.

 

Rafi.

 

 

Nevada threw his jacket across the room and prepared a glass of whiskey for himself. He winced as he gulped down the entire contents of the glass and relaxed against the leathery surface of the couch and exhaled. He looked up at the blank ceiling, trying to remember desperately what had happened the night Camilla Velazquez was murdered. Instead, all he could think of was Rafael's attitude towards him that morning. Damn that _hijo de puta._ Of all the ADAs, it had to be him?!

 

 

_"This is the last time I'm clearing your shit for you"_

 

_"Rafi, please. We both know that's not true. You are taking up the extortion case."_

 

_"Actually, it is true. I'm applying for a job at the DA's office"_

 

 

_Nevada spat the cigar out, not bothering to look whether it fell on someone's feet. He had to be joking, he thought.He saw Rafael's green eyes glaring at him, the same green eyes he saw in the mirror when he looked at himself in the mornings. He looked like he was serious, though Rafi always looked like he was serious. Nevada didn't know whether to laugh or slap him. Maybe that's what Sophia felt when he told her he was dropping out of school to work for Morena._

 

 

 

_"What happened? Got bored of the high life so soon?"_

 

_"Its not like that and you damn well know it" Rafael said, his voice edging with anger._

 

 

_"Dios Mio" Nevada said, slowly realizing what Rafael meant "You must be kidding me. Me? You are switching sides because of me??"_

 

_"In a way, yes" Rafael said, his voice faltering as he looked at the street and away from him. Nevada had a strong urge to yank his fancy-ass tie and make him look at him in the eye and talk, but he decided it was a bad idea._

 

 

 

"Pendejo" he said to himself, thinking back on their last meeting.

 

 

 

_"Too bad Sophia's not around" Nevada replied as he buried his hands in his pockets. It was a cold night. "She would have been proud. Oh wait, she always was proud of you"_

 

_"Mierda, Nevada for once in your life, just...stop" Rafael said, glaring at him again._

 

 

_Well that worked, Nevada thought and smirked, feeling happy to see Rafael getting all worked up at the mention of Sophia._

 

 

_"You don't have to drag Aunt Sophia in this. And for Christ's sake, at least address her as your mother at least after her death"_

 

_""Then what, huh? Prove it to your own Mami that you're not a sellout"_

 

_" I KNOW I'm not a sellout, she knows that as well. I don't know about you though. Wonder what Morena thinks about you taking over what was once his territory"_

 

_"Why the fuck are you bothered? You won't be dealing with this shit anyways"_

 

 

_"Doesn't all of this make you question your conscience?"_

 

_"Please don't tell me we'll be talking about morality and ethics while standing in front of a bodega on a cold night, Rafi. I get it, you want to be a good man"_

 

_"I just want to do what I was supposed to when I became a lawyer" Rafael said, extending his hand forward "I won't call it 'pleasure', but we have worked with each other, on several occasions. So I thought you should know about this, about me resigning-". The little shit looked smug, like he had scored a point against him_

 

 

_"Get out" Nevada said through gritted teeth_

 

_"With pleasure" Rafael replied, with that smug smile on his face._

 

_And with that, he saw Rafael walk away , his silly briefcase by his side._

 

 

Until today's blasted morning, ten years later. With that briefcase still by his side. Sophia had gifted him that, of course he would have kept it for all these years.

 

There was that strange sense of relief when he saw Rafi at the precinct. THough it might have been the old familiar sensation, the one where his words used to be "I'll take care of this" and not "We are going to get that evidence"

 

 

Think about that goddamned girl, you idiot.

 

 

All Nevada could remember was the way her skin felt against his, the hazel eyes that looked into his when he slammed her against her doorway as she unbuckled his belt and the way her voice sounded when she moaned as his name. And that weird air of danger that screamed "Its a trap!". It was that thing that had attracted him to her; thinking she was way too different from all the other girls.

 

 

Maybe it _was_ a trap.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for being late (again)! I've already started working on the next two chapters, so I promise I'll be updating soon :D


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